Benetton 24-17 Edinburgh: Italians earn victory with 14 men

Henry Immelman scored two tries for Edinburgh in Italy, but 14-man Benetton prevailed

Edinburgh suffered defeat away to Benetton despite the Italians playing with 14 men for 70 minutes.

The hosts lost debutant Matteo Minozzi to an early red card for a reckless collision with Wes Goosen, but led 10-3 at the interval thanks to tries from Marcus Watson and Sebastian Negri.

Edinburgh full-back Henry Immelman twice levelled the game with second-half scores but depleted Benetton found the decisive try on 67 minutes as Rhyno Smith added to Niccolo Cannone's effort.

It was a gritty showing from the home side, who had two spells with just 13 men and got off to a dreadful start.

Charlie Savala knocked over a close-range penalty for Edinburgh before Minozzi was sent off after catching Goosen in the head with a high boot.

The Italians shrugged off the loss of the winger to enjoy a prolonged spell of possession and Tomas Albornoz sent Watson over in the corner with a cut-out pass.

Benetton maintained the attacking momentum and Edinburgh had a man in the bin when Goosen was penalised for an infringement as the visitors, missing all of their internationals, were pinned back near their own try-line.

Henry Pyrgos was lucky not to follow him for a deliberate knock-on before Benetton eventually broke through, with Negri lumbering in from a looping Dewaldt Duvenage pass.

Early in the second half, Edinburgh hit back as a delayed pass from Savala opened space for Immelman to skip over a challenge and touch down.

With Savala converting, the scores were level but parity did not last long as Cannone forced his way over and Albornoz's conversion established a seven-point cushion.

Another twist followed as Benetton were reduced to 13 players when Federico Ruzza was sinbinned.

Edinburgh made their two-man advantage count as Nick Haining broke a tackle and sent Immelman over out wide on the hour. Savala again added the extras but Edinburgh could not take the initiative.

A well-weighted disguise chip over the top from Duvenage wrongfooted Edinburgh and Smith raced through to touch down, with Jacob Umaga adding the extras.

Smith became the second Benetton player sinbinned for a high tackle in the closing minutes but the hosts held on without too much fuss.

Line-ups

Benetton: R Smith; M Watson, I Brex, M Zanon, M Minozzi; T Albornoz, D Duvenage; N Tetaz, G Lucchesi, S Ferrari, N Cannone, F Ruzza, S Negri, M Zuliani, L Cannone.

Replacements: G Nicotera, I Nemer, T Pasquali, S Scrafton, G Pettinelli, A Garbisi, J Umaga, T Menoncello.

Edinburgh: H Immelman; D Hoyland, M Currie, J Lang, W Goosen; C Savala, H Pyrgos; B Venter, S McInally, A Williams, M Sykes, J Hodgson, M Haining, L Crosbie, B Muncaster.

Replacements: P Harrison, J Jack, L Atalifo, G Young, C Boyle, B Vellacott, J van der Walt, C Dean.

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